Mickey Mouse Weekly (1936-37) 1-99 heralded the first comics appearances of Mickey, Donald and the Disney gang and were very strongly bid to £1220 with issues 100-224 in a following lot at £420. These consecutive complete years are so difficult to put together.

This 1944 complete year of 1944 Beanos were all in low to mid grades but their rarity pushed the bidding to £760.

The Dandy year of 1958 has only come up for auction a couple of times and this bound volume included flyers for Bunty No 1 so Desperate Dan did not sell himself cheaply for £880.

This classic Dan Dare original artwork page from 1957, signed by Frank Hampson, has the evil master-brain of Venus, The Mekon aboard his flying chair with his Eloktrobot army attempting to force Col. Dare to help him conquer the Universe. This highly detailed page achieved a record hammer price £3,600.

66 issues of Mirabelle’s Romantic Picture Stories, pop stars, Beatles covers and free gifts also included the Mirabelle Mini Magazine and 1966’s ‘Swinging London’ Holiday Number teaching us to dance The Madison and The Twist. Those were the days £360.

Ron Turner drew the Rick Random stories for Super Detective Library and here was his original 1958 artwork of pg 2 from issue No.111 - snapped up for £580

78 issues of Romeo’s Big Picture Romance and Adventure Stories also championed the late 50s rise of British Rock ‘n’ Roll starring Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Skilful Skiffler Lonnie Donegan and Billy Fury -all producing a rock solid £430, Daddio

Here is a Heros The Spartan original artwork drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle’s centre page spread Vol. 16 No 28 (1965).
‘Heros and his band of escaped slaves fought their way out of El Raschid’s desert stronghold. Swelled by the Moorish army of Abdullah the Cruel, El Raschid’s savage band streamed in hot pursuit…!’ The board hammered at £3300, just above its upper estimate.

The Hornet No 1 from 1962 with scarce Kestrel Balsa Wood Glider free gift is a tough find so this comic with a grade of [vfn-] was certain to attract multiple high bidding and a new record of £580 was rightly achieved.

Lady Penelope No.1 from 1966 included it free gift, the scarce Lady P Signet Ringand went on to sell for £410.
(The only other copy we sold with free gift was in 2014 in a slightly lower grade. It made £490, £80 more).
‘Parker, stop idling and turn the Rolls around!’...’Yus, Milady’.

88 issues of Marilyn had Tommy Steele, Adam Faith and The Shadows spin the latest discs for you along with Fashion Tips from Pop-Star Chicks. Mini-skirts with maxi moolah: £460.

Sally’s complete 83 issue run was here with the only Summer Special and 1971 & ’72 annuals. The lot included Nos 1 and 3 free gifts and starred Cat Girl, The Legion of Super Slaves and Sally’s Problem page. £470 was certainly no problem.

Our TV Century 21 collection was only missing issue 45 from Nos 1-103 but this Gerry Anderson stalwart publication introduced The Thunderbirds by Frank Bellamy, Fireball XL5 by Don Lawrence and Mike Noble and The Daleks, Stingray and Captain Scarlet by the those two Ronnies: Turner and Embleton. The Eagle’s brilliant creator, Frank Hampson, even chipped in, drawing five episodes of Lady Penelope. Quite simply, the finest artists of their day brought together by Anderson to illustrate his magnum opus. £1,020 took them away.

 

Here are two rare IPC trade promotional folders enclosing Cheeky No 1 & 2 and Whoopee No 1 both with their original free gifts as new. Estimated at £50-70 they made £390. Whoopee.

Two consecutive Charley’s War artworks are featured here by Joe Colquhoun for Battle 267 (1979) and selling for £490.
‘The Nazi Judgment Troopers were now trapped by the Tommies they had sentenced to death, they could expect no mercy!’

Ron Turner did not illustrate many Judge Dredd artworks and this 1977 early example from 2000AD prog 16 made £1,520.

Turner’s 1980s re-creation artwork of his Moons For Sale cover features on pg 315 of the newly published ‘The Fantastic Art of Ron Turner’ biography by John Lawrence. It sold for £360.

Our US Golden Age section featured Detective Comics #136 where ‘Scarface Carson, Still at Large, Defies Batman’ (with £360)

Doctor Voodoo original artwork by Mac Raboy from Whiz Comics #11 shows Hal Carey setting a midnight trap for the mysterious ape prowler and after a terrific struggle he unmasks the banished medicine man, Okoro…and after another terrific struggle the artwork sold for £1220.

Yet another terrific struggle as The Amazing Spider-Man #1 UK variant CGC 5.0 raised £7,600.00.

We started our Silver Age high grade cents copy collection of over 100 following lots with Amazing Spider-Man #7 [vfn-] at £580 and #10 [vfn/nm] making £780.

CGC’d at 8.5 and 9.0 respectively, Spidey #18 took £410 from The Sandman and #33 demanded £680 from Doc Oc.

Spider-Man’s suit may be in the trash can but his [vfn+] comic is in Savile Row with £1020.

Fantastic Four #5 is a hard-to-come-by hot book and even our pence copy low grade example with interior taped tear and back cover top piece torn away was not doomed to sell cheaply, making £1780.

The first Hulk exceeds the first Spider-Man in value and this CGC 4.0 UK price variant took 8,400 green-backs or £6,200.

 

 

 

These two Batmans were exceedingly brave and bold, both graded [vfn/nm]. Poison Ivy was lively at £2,400 and Neil Adams #227 in heaven with £1220

The first Green Lantern appearance in Showcase #22 is a relatively rare comic to find and our [vg] cents copy had light tan pages and lower back cover margin insect chew. The bidders were also hungry and £1620 eventually proved to be quite a full meal.

 

 

 

Talking of Showcases, we have been involved in many diverse and exciting challenges during our 32 years in the comics business. However I have been asked by one of our local schools to come in and do a showcase presentation on how an auction works in a career setting involving buyers, sellers, auctioneers and, ultimately, the specialist area of comics that we encompass. I was also informed that our audience would be a mixed class of six to seven-year-olds.

 

Imagine my horror when my wife informed me that this age group ‘doesn’t really read comics anymore’ and titles like Beano and Dandy would not actually mean that much to them. Hopefully I had planned to take a few comics with me to show what children used to read and, at the end of the presentation, maybe involve them in a mock auction (of comics they’ve never heard of) to see how they get on.

 

What could possibly go wrong?